Editorial: Finally, a date for a fracking vote

Posted:
04/09/2014 09:56:25 PM MDT

More than one year after representatives from Protect Our Loveland submitted petitions seeking the public's vote on a two-year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing efforts in city limits, residents will likely have a chance to make their voices heard.

After two hours of debate on Tuesday, Loveland City Council members voted to place the question on a special election ballot set for July 29. Many of the same councilors who rejected placing the measure on the ballot last November because of a pending legal appeal argued for the earliest possible election date this year, blithely ignoring the fact that an appeal of the district court's ruling has been filed with the Colorado Court of Appeals.

The June 24 election date proposed by some council members would have coincided with the state's primary election. Coincidentally, Loveland Republicans will have high-profile choices on that date for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor and county races. So far, Democrats might have a choice for the University of Colorado regent for District 2, a much-less-enticing reason to go to the polls.

Larimer County Clerk and Recorder Angela Myers, a Republican herself, noted the intersection of the primary and hydraulic fracturing vote could jeopardize her ability to certify the primary results should a legal challenge be mounted.

Would a June 24 vote on a fracking moratorium have been skewed because of the statewide and regional races on the ballot? Maybe, maybe not. Because the issue cuts across many political lines, however, it's for the best that the issue have its own election date. That way, supporters and detractors will be able to argue the issue on its merits alone.

Council members have rightly pointed out there are serious questions surrounding the ballot issue and its specific provisions. It will be incumbent on supporters to explain the intent of their proposal, just as opponents will have to persuade voters that the status quo is the preferred alternative.

It took too long to get to this point, but it is at the heart of what the citizen-referred initiative process is all about.